The post-independence civil service in Kosovo: A message of politicization

Abstract

This contribution discusses the politicization of the civil service system in Kosovo as a framework through which politicians exert influence in the system. The article employs the concept of formal-political discretion, as a means of explaining and elucidating the extent to which both the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and current legislation regulating civil service preconditions/pre-favours the politicization of the senior civil service in Kosovo. It first discusses the concept of politicization based upon current scholarship and gives hints on the way in which these concepts fit with both UNMIK and Kosovo’s current situation. Next, the article discusses and compares the previous civil service system built by UNMIK with the current one – built in post-independence Kosovo based upon the formal-political discretion model. The article further argues that the former system of civil service – in contrast to the current system – provided less formal-political discretion to political elites with which to politicize the senior civil service. The article concludes by suggesting that the current post-independence legislation regulating the civil service grants the executive institutions a significant level of formal-political discretion in the appointment, dismissal and promotion of civil servants.Points for practitionersThe articles offers a thorough, both theoretical and practical, policy explanation of the model and structure of Kosovo's civil service, hinting on the previous and current legislative gaps that allow for partisan influence and control. The article also portrays the routes via which the politicization of the civil service in Kosovo is being developed, giving insights on how civil servants perceive such a process. Comparing the previous civil service system with the current one, the article informs practitioners on the directions that the new reform on Kosovo's civil service should take. Finally, the article provides in-depth policy information on the means to redesign the key protection mechanisms of Kosovo's senior civil service management.